BUCKS COUNTY CONSORTIUM Thursday, October 2, 2003 Meeting Minutes A meeting of the Bucks County Consortium was held at Warwick Township, on October 2, 2003. The following individuals were present: Vivian Bell, Warrington TownshipCarol Bigham, New Britain Township Eileen Bradley, Wrightstown Township John Cornelius, Perkasie Borough Dana Cozza, Buckingham Township David Drye, Chalfont Borough Frank Farry, Middletown Township Bruce Fosselman, Governor’s Center Kathleen Goldhahn, Northampton Township Tom Harwood, Newtown Township Rick Lee, DVIT Stephanie Mason, Doylestown Township Bill McCauley, Bensalem Township Rich O’Brien, Keystone Municipal Bob Pellegrino, Newtown Township Richard Sabol, Upper Southampton Township Tom Scott, Warwick Township Stephen Sechriest, Richland Township Bruce Townsend, Northampton Township Robin Trymbiski, New Britain Borough Gail Weniger, Warwick Township Paul Williams, Dublin Borough Preliminary Remarks John Cornelius called the meeting to order and announced the morning's agenda. Approval of Minutes A motion was made by Paul Williams, and seconded by Stephanie Mason, to approve the Minutes of 4 September 2003. Motion carried. Treasurer's Report The Treasurer's Report for September 2003 was presented. Upon a motion by Bruce Townsend, seconded by Frank Farry, the Treasurer's report of September 2003 was unanimously approved. Presentation: “Municipal Phone Systems” John Cornelius introduced Alex Smith, and other representatives of telephone company ET & T. The company gave a presentation on municipal phone systems. Included in the presentation were the products and services offered: remote maintenance, available phones and systems (“inter-tel”), executive keysets, voice mail, system additions, call accounting, conversation recording, voice-overs, IP networking, cordless headsets, integrated technologies, etc. ET & T has a number of school and municipal clients, and its products are offered on state contract. Several members stated that they have had a favorable experience using ET & T. Legislative Updates Bruce Fosselman, John Cornelius, and Bruce Townsend introduced discussion on HB 298 and SB 321 which protects private industry from government competition by limiting the number of services provided by government. Examples of municipal services that could be impacted include insurance pools, golf courses, etc. PSATS, PSAB, the Montgomery County Consortium, and other municipal organizations are closely monitoring this legislation. Discussion included the recommendation that municipalities encourage elected officials not to support this legislation. Rick Lee described the legal opinions on HB 298 received by the Delaware Valley Insurance Trust. Other Business The next Bucks County Consortium meeting will be a roundtable, like the pension roundtable held last year. The executive committee reported that it is interested in topic ideas. Some ideas include roadway management, e-government, etc. John Cornelius reported that Frank Farry of Middletown Township will be on a television program aired on TLC. Bill McCauley reported on the success of the recent ICMA conference. Kathleen Goldhahn reported on the activities and meeting schedule of the Central Bucks Cable Committee. Gail Weniger invited members to attend a meeting on medical benefits at Warwick Township to be held on October 9, 2003, at 10:00AM. Carol Bigham reported on 2004 medical cost increases for New Britain Township. Tom Harwood announced that Mary Flagg has accepted the position of East Vincent Township Manager. Adjourn John Cornelius thanked Warwick Township for hosting the meeting. The meeting adjourned without motion. Respectfully submitted, ___________________ |